Eoldable outboard motor



Feb. 3, 1931. o EVINRUDE FOLDABLE OUTBOARD MOTOR l iled Jan. 9, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 3, 1931.

O. EVINRU DE FOLDABLE OUTBOARDVMOTORV Filed Jan. 9, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nu mknwr A Patented Feb. 3; i931 UNITED, STAT ES PATENT orr cs- OLE nvnmonn, or .mLwAoxEE, wlseoiwsn'r, assrenon, ZBY mnslv'n ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro

oornoann moronsconrona'rrou, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN FOLDAIBLE' ournoenn moron Application filedlanuary l), 1829. Serial No. 381,244.

This invention relates in general to out? 3 board motors and more particularly to an are to be used and to be adapted for such I is fixed to the crank shaft or engine shaftjust transportation it is,-of course, desirable that the motor be small, compact and of light weight. In use, such motors are supported on the stern of the boat with the flywheel,

which carriesthes'tarting handle and which above the engine cylinders, positioned above the stern of the boat so as to be accessible for starting the motor. Now, as the propeller must be properly submerged in the water and as it must be driven from the motor located well above the water line, the propeller and motor are necessarily spaced a rather sub- -sta1'1tial vertical distance.

the propeller from the motor proper is e ec t- ,edbv em loying a rather long vertical drive This spacin shaft which is coupled to the engine shaft and geared to the horizontal propeller shaft,- this shafting and gearing being enclosed in an elongated housing fixed to the crank-casing of the engine. It is further necessaryfor this housing to be rigid andstrong as it provides the only support for the bearings re.- quired for the shafting. The necessity of providing this rather elongated housing and the shaftmg between the engine and the propeller has rendered the outboard motors heretofore proposed rather large and cumbersome and their transportation in an automobile or otherwise has been attended with difliculty and partly in-central longitudinal vertical section further illustrating the motor in the 95 Figure 3 isa view partly in side elevation 7 dled article. For this purpose the drive shaft housing and the drive shaft are each made up of two sections detachably connected together m such manner that the lower. section of the housing-and the drive shaft section contained therein may be easily folded up against the upper housing section and re'leasably' held in such position. The arrangement is such that when themotor isto be setup the lower section maybe easily brought back into alinement with the upper sectlon and secured in such position. Preferably, the,securing of.

the housin sections ini al-inement automatically coup es v"the drive shaft sections. In one form of the invention the-lower sectionof the housing is hinged to the upper s'ection 5 and in COI1]1H1Gtl( )Il with-the hinge a releasable fastening means is provided which looks the housin sections alinedor operatively assembled. TI

pon release of the fastening means the lower housing section may be swung around against the upper section and;

releasably latched in such position.

-Another feature of the. invention resides in the provision of a protector for the s arkplugs .of the motor which precludes sp ashmg and wetting of the spark plugs and consequently grounding thereof. This protector is also desi edand adapted to serve as a support for t e ignition C01l and may also be. adapted to provld'e a handle for carrying themotor.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the; construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will' be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended. claims,- reference being. had to the accom panying drawings forming a part of this specification, and'in which Figure 1 is a view in rear elevation of an outboard motor embodying the present invention and showing the same folded up;

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation position shown in Figure 1;"

taken on line elevation showing the combined spark plug protector and coil holder and associated parts; j

Figure 9 is a view in top plan of the parts shown in Figure 8, with the flywheel removed'forthe sake of illustration; and

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view on line 10--10 of Figure 9.

Referring to the drawings,.it will bye-seen that the outboard motor embodies in many respects the features of-the conventional outboard motor in that it has a pair of cylinders 2 connected'to the opposite sides of the crank case 3. The crank shaft. or engine shaft3 projects aboveand below the crank case and has a flywheel-4 fixed to its upper end and carrying the usual starting handle (not shown).'" The motor has the usual equipment suchtas a gas tank 5, carburetor 6 and 'muflier 7. 7

The. present invention proposes to construct a drive shaft housing with two sections, thatis', an upper section 10 which has its upper endv bolted to the crank case and a lower section 11 so. connected to'the u per section as to be foldable thereon as iilustrated in Fi tion between t e housing sections 10- and 11 may .comprise'a'hinge -12 pivotally con- 'nectin'g the sections at one side of the houswith the sectionll. When the'sections 10,

ing. For the purpose of releasably securing the housing sections 1.0 and 11 in alinement suitable releasable fastening'mean's may be provided between "the sides of the sections opposite the hinge'12. One type of such a fastening meansis shown and'comprises an eye-bolt 13 pivotally supported on a pin 14 carried by spaced lugs 15 integrally formed and 11 are alined the eye-bolt 13 ispositioned as shown in Figure 3 audits shank passes upwardly between lugs 17 formed integral with the section 10. A, nut 18 is threaded on the shank of the eye-bolt and may be tightened up to bear against a lockwasher 20 mounted on the shank of the eyebolt and interposed between'the nut 18 and the lugs 17. When the nut 18 is tightened up the sections of the drive shaft housing are securely clamped and-held together and the motor has all of the features of strength and rigidity of the conventional type of rig d housing? When the motoris folded up or knocked down the nut 18 is loosened and the eye-bolt is swung around to the position .shown inFigure' 2; The lowersection 11 may then be swung areund to the position and which engages the skid or lower end of the drive shaft ousing.

The drive shaft is also made up tions, there being upper section 25 which has its upper end fixedly coupled to the crank shaft 3 of the engine, and a lower section 26 of two secgeared as at 27 to the propeller shaft 28. Ex-

ternally of the lower section of the housing the propeller shaft 28 carries the usual propeller designated at 29. A- coupling is provided between the drive shaft sections 25 and 26 and is designed to automatically connect these drive shaft sections when the housingsections are brought into alinement. As shown in Figures 2, Sand 7, the coupling comprises cou ling sleeves-30 and 31' pinned or otherwise xed to the drive shaft sections 25 and 26, respectively. The meeting ends of the sleeves 30 and 31 project beyond their respective drive shaft sections and are formed with alternate projections and recesses designated at 32 and 33, respectively, the projections of the coupling sleeve 30 being designed to interfit with the recesses of the coupling sleeve 31 and vice versa. The upper section 10 of the drive shaft housing is formed with a transverse partition 35 adjacent its lower end, the artition 35 having a flanged central opening 36 lined with a bushing 37 and prores 1 and 2. The connec-f' vlding a bearing-for the lower end- .of the coacts with a peripheralflange-like structure 38 formed at the lower end of the housing section 10 to form the top and side wall of a i pump chamber. The lower wall of this chamer is formed with the upper end of the lower ousing section 11. The partition 39 is offset upwardly to a slightextent from the main body of the housing section 11 and is of a reduced diameter so that it also provides a flange structure adapted to interfit with-the flange structure 38 at the lower end ofthe housing section 10. This interfitting flange arrangement has the advantage of relieving thehinge and fastening means of a great part of the strain im sed upon the connection thus had between t e sections ofthe housing.

defined by a partition 39inte ally A centrifugal impeller 40 operates in-the Y ump-chamber'thus provided, the impeller 40 tition 45 also defines in the lower lidusing section 11 an enclosed chamber 48hr: the roin'gxpinned to the couplingisieeve 30 and to' pellershaft and the gearing 'einploye to-f connect the drive shaft thereto and'entirel'y' separates this chamber 48 from a water inlet passage 49 afforded by the balance of the interior of the lower housing section 11. The inlet passage 49 communicates at its lower end with the exterior through an inlet 50 provided with a strainer 50' and at its upper end communicates with the pump chamber through an opening 51 provided in the partition 39 and leading into the center of the pump chamber. As will be understood from igure3, when the motor is set up for operation'the inlet 50 faces forwardly and thus functions as a scoop for feeding the water up to the pump chamber. The pump chamber is provided with an outlet 52 which communicates with a pipe 53 leading to. the water jackets of the engine cylinders. After circulating through the engine cylinders the water is discharged in any conventional or desired manner. ,The upper section 10 of the housing may also have an inwardly depressed portion accommodating part of the pipe 53 to afford the space required for the nut on the outer end of the propeller shaft.

An anti-cavitation plate may be integrally formed with the lower section of the housing but it is notched to accommodate the pipe 53 in the folded osition of the motor.

The propeller sha t 28 is rotatably supported ina combined radial and thrust bearing 63 which is supported in the gear chamber and which may also be designed to take the end thrust of the lower section of the drive shaft. The usual detachable cap or end plate 64 is also provided andhas a bushing 65 affording. another bearing for the propeller shaft.

In conjunction with this motor, protective means is provided for preventing its spark plugs S from bein splashed or wet with water and thereby s ort-circuited or grounded, and comprises a pair of substantially semi-spherical shells integrally formed at the ends of a connecting bar 71 of angle shape in cross section. Integral with one of the flanges of the connecting bar is the. U-shaped frame member 72. The semi-s herical shells are formed with lugs 73 and 4 which abut lugs 75 and 76 formed integral with the crank case and which are secured thereto by screws or the like. A screw 77 also fastens the frame 71 to an abutment provided therefor on the crank case. The shells 70 are cut out or formed with openings 7 0' to receive the spark plugs S of the engine but the binding posts on thespark plugs are contained within the confines of the shell and are thus. protected. The wrench engaging portion of the spark plugs are accessible, as shown in Figure 2. The confronting ends of the shells 70 are provided with semi-circular extensions 78 0 which afford supports for the ends of the coil C of the type usually employedin the ignition system of this-type of outboard motor. The extension 78 maybe provided with .alinedf spring clips 80 for releasablyholding the coil 0 in position. The frame 71 also provides a convenient handle for carrying the motor from place to place.

- With this construction, an'outboard motor is provided which, when in use, possesses all ofjthe desirable characteristics of the conventional type of outboard motor and yet when it is to be transported from place to place it may be knocked down and folded up into a'compact and easily handled bundle of small compass.

This foldable feature is bad without any diflicult or laborious assembling and disassembling o erations requiring the expenditure of skill all that is required. is the loosenin and tightening of a single nut. Thus, to old up the motor the nut 18 is loosened and the eye-bolt swung around from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Fi re 2 and the lower section of the housing is also rotated about its hinge 12 to the osition shown in Fiures 1 and 2. The late '21 releasably hol s the motor folded. In this way the overall length of themotor is practically cut in half and the folded parts lie within and strength. On the contrary,

the lateral confines of the assembl at the upper end or head of the motor. 0 set up the motor for operation it is necessary merely to swing the lower housing section around to the position shown in Figure 3 from the position shown in Figure 2, the latch 21 yielding to permit this swinging of the lower section. When the sections ,10 and 11 are alined the flange structures 38 and 39 interfit and then by swin ing the eye-bolt around :in between its lugs 1 and tightening u the nut 18 the parts may be lockedin set up po-v sition. Durin this setting up of the housing sections the drive shaft sections are automatically coupled as the projections andrecesses j of the coupling sleeves automatically interfit when the housing sections are brought together. If desired, the extremities of the projections 32 of the coupling sleeves may be slightly tapered or rounded to facilitate this 'interfit. Between the sections '10 and 11 of the housing a suitable be interposed.

The invention claimed is:

-1. An outboard motor having a drive shaft made up. of sections, a housing for the drive shaft also made up of sections foldable upon each other, means for releasably securing the sections of the housing in operative alinement and means for couplin I the 'sections of the drive shaft when the ousing sections are packing gasket may and means for coupling thesections of the drive shaft when the housing sections are operatively alined.

3."An outboard motor including afdriveshaft made up of upper and lower sections, a housing having upper and lower sections in which the upper and lower shaft sections are rotatably mounted, means connecting the a housing sections in such manner as to permit the lower section to be folded upon the upper section, and ineans for automatically coupling the sections'of the drive shaft when the housing sections are operativel alinedQ housing sections'operatively alined, and.

4.- An-outb'oard motor havingla rive shaft made up of a pair of sections, a ousing-therefor including a pair of sections having interfitting flanges at their meetin ends, a hinge between the sections of the ousing, a releasable fastening device for securing the means for coupling the drive shaft sections when the housing sections are alined.

5. An outboard motor having a conventional crank case and cylinder assembly and conventional equipment associated therewith,

-a drive shaft housing including an'upper sec tion secured to the crank case and a foldable lower section, a hinge pivotally connecting said sections whereby the sections may be Y sections when the housing sections are operatively extended with res ect to each other. 6. An outboard motor aving a water cooling system and including a housin made up of sections adapted to be extends in operative relation when the motor is in use and also adapted to be collapsed to reduce the size of the motor when the same is not in use, a shaft section'carried by each section of the housing and collapsed and extended therewith, means on the shaft sections for coupling the same when the housing and shaft sections are extended, coope'ratmg'means on the housing sections providing interfitting flange structure for strengthenin the connection be-v tween the sections in t e operative assembly and also defining a pump chamber, an impeller fixed to one of the shaft sectionsand operating .in the pump chamber, one of said housing sections having means providing an inlet to said pump chamber, and means connecting the outlet of the pump chamber tot-he cooling system of the motor.

7. Anoutboard motor having a sectional drive shaft, a'sectional housing for the drive shaft, a hinge between the sections of the housing, a bolt ivoted to one of said housing sections and aving a nut thereon, means on the other housing section adapted to coact handle.

with the bolt and nut for securing the sec-- -motion transmission means for driving the propeller from the motor. and including a sectional drive shaft, a sectional housing therefor, said housing sections carrying said shaft sections and being adaptedto be extended in operative relation when thelmotor is set up for use and also being adapted to be collapsed to reduce the size of the motor, when desired, means for securing the housing sections ex tended, means for connecting the shaft sec-.

tions,-and means for releasably holding the housing sections collapsed.

9. An outboard motor includinga crank case and cylinder assembly, a, drive shaft housing having an upper section secured to the crank case, and a lower section connected to the upper section so as to be foldable thereagainst orextended. I therefrom, releasable -means for securing the sections extended, a

drive shaft including a section rotatably section rotatably mounted in the lower-housing section, coupling means between said shaft sections automatically engaged when the sections are extended and automatically released when the sections are folded, a pro.

.90 mounted in the upper. housing section anda rtured to receive the spark plugs outboard motor including a pair of, rotective v shells apertured to receive the spar plugs, a

connecting element between said shells, and

an attaching frame ri 'd with the connecting element and also a pted to constitute a 12. A protector for spark plugs of an outboard motor, including a pair of protective shells apertured to receive the spark plugs and a connecting element between said shells,

the confronting ends of the shells being adapted to receive and-support the ends of a co i 13. An oiltboard motor including the com bination with an engine and a propeller, of

ashaft housing structure connecting said engine and propeller and comprisin normally aligned sections hingedl joined" or collapse upon each other, separa le drive shaft parts respectively ournaled in the several sections and provided with couplings engageable only when said sections are allgned, and a releasable connecting device adapted to secure said'sections normally in alignment.

14. An outboard'motor including an engine, a propeller vand collapsible driving and supporting connections therebetween including a sectional drive shaft, a sectional hous ing structure in the component parts of which the several sections of the drive shaft are re spectively' mounted, means for releasablyfastening the sections of the housing structure together in axial alignment, the drive shaft sections being rovided with couplings operatively engagea le for the transmission of motion when the sections of the housing are so aligned, and a hinged connection between the component parts of the housing structure, whereby said parts are collapsible upon each other.

15. An outboard motor including an engine having a crank shaft, in combination with a substantially upright drive shaft section, a first housing section enclosing said upright drive shaft section, a second housing section hingedly connected with the first and provided with a securing device adapted to maintain said housing sections in alignment, a second drive shaft section provided with a coupling operatively engageable with the first drive shaft sections when said housing sections are aligned, a propeller shaft carried by said second shaft housing section and intergeared with said second drive shaft section, and a propeller on said propeller shaft movable in the hinged movement of said shaft housing sections to a position in which it is nested with respect to said engine.

16. In an outboard motor, the combination with spaced cylinders and spark plugs having binding posts projecting from said cylinders, of shells mounted on said engine and apertured to receive the respective ends of said plugs, a connection between said shells, and a coil connected with said binding posts and shielded by said connection between said shells.

In witness whereof, I hereto affix my signature.

OLE EVINRUDE. 

